The Misadventures of Padfoot and Prongs

The next week had went by without a hitch. The four Marauders had once again went through another night of the full moon, yet this time without anyone getting hurt (although Remus did confront another graphorn and chased it off), the extra Transfiguration lessons had Lyra almost caught up (however neither Sirius nor Lyra would allow it to get closer than that), and three pranks had come and gone without anyone getting caught.

Not to mention Apparition classes have been going much more smoothly now that the group had gotten the hang of it.

But it had to be today that a group of Six Year Slytherins happened to be fairly nasty to the wrong Gryffindor in the hall.

"So, Gilmore, are you nervous for the match tomorrow?" said a nasty Slytherin boy, Avery. "I heard that Bludgers have a tendency to aim for a wimp like you."

Abigail Gilmore's, the meek Gryffindor Seeker, face fell with worry, and Avery spoke up again, "I would be worried if I were you. Maybe you should quit? Girls shouldn't play Quidditch, anyways. Too weak. That's why you never will see a girl on Slytherin's team."

"And that's why you won't win this year, Avery," James said as he, Sirius, Remus, and a reluctant Peter walked up behind Abigail. "Leave my Seeker alone and go bother someone who is twice your size. If you're lucky, you'll get pounded and come out looking better than you do now."

Avery didn't seem to like that much as was obvious as he grabbed his wand from his side, pointed it at James and whispered a spell under his breath. Before James could cast Protego, he felt a familiar sensation atop his head. However, unlike the other times he had felt this sensation, this was extraordinarily painful. Yet nothing could stop the spell and soon James' antlers sprouted from his cranium.

James stood shock, as Sirius and Remus took action.

"Densaugeo!" yelled Sirius and Avery's front teeth began to grow rapidly. Two other Slytherins yelled out spells, but Remus flicked his wand and a barrier struck up between them and the Marauders.

The moment it fell, James held out his wand and without so much as a whisper, flicked it much like Remus and hit another Slytherin, who was aiming, causing the boy's face to swell.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?!" a feminine voice yelled from down the hall. "Potter! Go see Madam Pomfrey, you two as well. And ten points for each of you will be taken from your house!" The Slytherins began to defend their pride, but the four Gryffindors just dropped their shoulders and hung their head (except James, who was finding that walking with antlers was much more difficult as a human), as they knew that arguing with McGonagall is generally a pointless fight.

"Professor," Sirius spoke up when he noticed that James was stumbling a bit with the extra weight. "Do you mind if I help James to the Hospital Wing?"

The middle-aged woman looked to the boy in question, "That's fine, Black. But don't linger around the Wing. Get to class as soon as he is in a bed, do you understand me?"

"Perfectly, ma'am!" Sirius then wrapped an arm around James' torso and swung the other boy's arm around his shoulder. "Come on, mate. We got a ways to go."

A couple minutes later, when both boys had cleared the hallway in which the fight had occurred, the young Ravenclaw beauty that had captured the heart of our dear Padfoot appeared from around the corner.

"Alrigh- James! What happened!?" Lyra exclaimed, pointing a finger at his antlers.
"Fight with Slytherins," he said simply. "And these damn things are giving me a headache. Mind helping me support myself?" James lifted up his other arm. Lyra smiled and obliged and helped Sirius carry their friend to the Hospital Wing.

Once there, the pair helped James lower himself onto a bed, and then stood up and stretched their tense muscles. Lyra looked down at James and released a small 'Huh' from her lips.

"What?" James said, raising an eyebrow.

"I never realized this, but you have antlers," Sirius snorted and mumbled something incoherent, but sarcastic nonetheless. Lyra rolled her eyes, "I wasn't finished. James you have antlers, your nickname is Prongs. Get it?" She ended by throwing her hands in the air and smiling brightly.

James and Sirius looked at her shocked, but recovered and started chuckling nervously.
"Yeah... never would've thought of that," said James, looking everywhere but Lyra.

Sirius bit his lip and looked down at the floor, running a hand through his long mane.
"Funny how things happen like this, eh mate?" was all he said to the situation. "Come on,
Lyra, we need to get to class. I'll come see you soon, Prongs."

Lyra was slightly taken back by their behavior, but complied all the same and followed Sirius out of the Hospital Wing just as Madam Pomfrey went to attend James.

The pair walked through the hallway together in an awkward silence, before Lyra broke it when she was about to turn and walk a separate way than Sirius.

"Um, I've got to go this way," said Lyra, pointing down the hallway to their left. "I'll see you later?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'll see you later," Sirius turned on his heel and walked swiftly away in order to get as far away as possible from the situation.

Shaking her head at his change in attitude, Lyra continued her way to the library to meet up with Lily. When she finally reached her destination, she searched the tables for the familiar redhead.

"Lyra! Over here!" whispered Lily from behind a tall bookshelf.

"Shhhh!" Madam Pince glared at them.

"Sorry," said Lyra, running over to Lily.

Lily smiled sheepishly to the librarian, then turned to Lyra, "Did you happen to see what happened on the second floor today? I heard James, Remus and Sirius had it out with a few Slytherins."

"No, I just missed it, but I think I know what happened," said Lyra, "James and Sirius were being themselves and some Slytherins came along and they just couldn't resist."

"Those gits," Lily said with a frown. "And to drag Remus along... honestly."

"Yeah, I know what you mean.." Lyra then faced Lily completely, "I have a question. Does anyone know why the boys call themselves by their nicknames? They don't really make sense, do they?"

The redhead thought for a moment, "I don't think I have ever heard them mention it before. Well, I never really gave too much thought, honestly. Why do you ask?"

"Well, the hex that was put on James made him grow antlers, and then it reminded me of his nickname, Prongs. Why do they call him that? I mean, it's not like he really has antlers, so why would they choose that?"

"Huh," Lily looked down at the bracelet that James gave her. Moving it around she rested the stag on her fingers, playing with it a little. "Lyra, did Sirius or James give you a charm bracelet that had an animal on it that didn't seem to make sense to why it was there?"

"Yeah, Sirius gave me one for Christmas," Lyra lifted her wrist to show Lily, "It's got a dog on it, but I just figured he bought it because it was cute.. Why, do you think it means something?"

"I'm not sure," replied Lily as she moved to a different section of the library. Scanning the books she picked one entitled 'Animagi of the World' and moved down to a table. She opened it up after both girls took a seat, and flipped it closer to the end. Looking down a list of names, she couldn't find the name of any of the boys in question. "This doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?"

"Well, do you remember what an animagus is?"

"Yes, of course," said Lyra, peering over the book from the side. "But what does that have to- Oh! You think they're Animagi?"

Lily bit her lip, "I think so, but I hope not."

"Why do you hope not?"

"That list I just looked through was a list of everyone who has ever been an Animagus. Most of them have passed away, as the skill is very rare, but towards the end it will have the updated version of the newest ones. See, Professor McGonagall is right there, and in the column beside her name describes her Animagus. Everyone who is an Animagus must register with the Ministry," Lily responded. "If not, they can get sent to Azkaban. I don't see James' or Sirius' names in here."

Lyra thought to herself for a moment, "Maybe we're just being paranoid and jumping to conclusions. This all might just be because of some strange inside joke between the four of them, we don't know for sure."

Lily knew that it wasn't just some inside joke, but she nodded all the same, "Yes, you are probably right. Let's talk about something else."

"Okay," said Lyra, "What do you want to talk about?"

The girl spent the rest of the time talking about each other families and life outside of Hogwarts, Lily having to explain a bit of Muggle life to Lyra, and the two placed the possibility of the Marauders breaking the law to the back of their minds.

They parted ways soon after, meeting up again in the Great Hall that evening for dinner. Instead of going to the Ravenclaw table, Lyra was called over to her favorite group of Gryffindors.

"Hey, boys," she said, sitting down next to Remus. "How's James doing?"

"Great now," said Sirius, smiling at her before taking a swig of pumpkin juice from his goblet. His previous awkwardness was completely gone and Lyra instantly felt more comfortable, "He'll be perfectly fine to play in tomorrow's match."

"Ahh, yes, the big Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Quidditch match we've all been eagerly awaiting."

"Can't wait for us to beat them," said Remus. "It'll be fantastic."

The crowd roared loudly with enthusiasm as Slytherin scored their eighth goal, bringing the total scores to eighty-fifty Slytherin. Sirius slammed his fist against his leg in anger, but then winced as the pain caught up with him.

"Come on, James, you can crush those slimy gits!" Sirius yelled over the crowd. Turning to Remus and Lyra, he said "I swear, if we lose this game, I'll never forgive him."

"What's got him in such a rage?" Lyra whispered to Remus, who was on her right.

"His brother's on the team," said Remus, pointing to the Slytherin Seeker circling the skies.

"What? Sirius has a brother?" She whipped her head to her left and slapped Sirius on the arm. "You have a brother? Why does no one tell me these things?" Sirius was too busy glaring at the air in front of him to notice she'd said anything.

"Well, you know what his family's like," Remus answered for him, "He's not on the best of terms with them, and they favor Regulus over him. I think he's a bit jealous-"

"I am NOT jealous of that tosser," said Sirius, turning to face them. "I just want to see them Slytherins get beaten into the ground by our obviously superior Quidditch team. Is that too much to ask for?"

"No, not really," Lyra laughed and turned her full attention back to the game.

James had just intercepted the Quaffle from a Slytherin Chaser and was now heading toward the goals. Before he managed to throw it though, he was hit in the side by a well-aimed Bludger and knocked off his broom. The crowd screamed as he fell to the ground with a thud. The Marauders shouted for their friend, hopping out of their seats and leaning over the rail. He seemed to be clutching his side in pain.

"Merlin! Did everyone see that?! James Potter has been knocked off his broom!" shouted the announcer.

"Is he okay?! What the bloody hell just happened?!" Were some common thoughts throughout the audience, with the Slytherins being the exception.

A time-out was called and in moments, Madam Pomfrey was on the field, rushing toward the fallen Gryffindor team captain. They waited with baited breath, and were informed soon after that James would be alright. Unfortunately, he needed to be taken out of the game.

"With Gryffindor down a Chaser, can they possibly win today? We'll have to wait and see," said the announcer.

The answer to the announcer's question was looking like a solid "No." With James out of the game, Slytherin was steadily gaining points. The added stress only made McLaggen fail to block more goals, and soon the scores were 180, Slytherin to 60, Gryffindor.

"This is so depressing," said Lyra, elbows resting on her knees and while her hands supported her chin.

"Tell me about it," Sirius sounded as if he had lost all hope of a Gryffindor victory.

Suddenly, the seemingly impossible happened. Abigail Gilmore, Gryffindor Seeker, spotted the Golden Snitch. Eyes narrowed, she dove downward and stretched her arm out as far as she could, focusing only on the task at hand. The spectators watched, disbelief and excitement invading their senses as they saw Gilmore going for the tiny gold ball.

"Oh no," said Remus.

Regulus Black was hot on her tail, his superior broom catching up quickly. The Marauders and Lyra stood from their seats and Remus lifted his omnioculars to his eyes.

"Oh my- is she really going to- Holy-" Lyra never finished her sentence because just as Regulus was about to shove into her, Abigail Gilmore caught the Golden Snitch.

"I don't believe it! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" When the words left the announcer's megaphone, the crowd went absolutely insane. Those clad in scarlet and gold were flailing about, screaming their heads off.

In her elation, Lyra turned and jumped into Sirius' arms, bringing him into a kiss. He stumbled backward and the two of them landed across one of the benches of the bleachers, Sirius pinned beneath the Ravenclaw, lips still attached. She pulled back laughing and looked into his eyes with absolute delight. Sirius brought his right hand to her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"Lyra, will you be my girlfriend?" asked Sirius, smiling up at her.

Lyra let out a giddy laugh and nodded her head vigorously, "Of course I will," she said, before bringing her lips back to his, completely forgetting about their surrounding classmates. In that moment, nothing could've made her happier.